7 worst things to do according to waiters

posted by Joel Riley -
Apr 7, 2017

Restaurant Workers Reveal These 7 Worst Things Customers Do

We all try to be polite to restaurant servers, so no shouting or snapping your fingers to get their attention or cursing them out if there's a problem. (And if you're ever on date with someone who does that, drop them fast.) But you may still be doing things that annoy servers or make their lives more difficult without meaning to. Here are seven things that servers say are some of the worst things you can do:

Stacking glasses and plates -- You're trying to be helpful, but you probably don't know the right way to stack, and that can make it harder to clear the table or lead to broken dinnerware.

Sitting at an uncleared table -- Not waiting until a table is cleared makes any server passing by feel obligated to stop what they're doing to clean your table.

Picking your own table -- Restaurants have seating charts, which helps assign tables equally, and can throw the system off by choosing your own spot.

Ignoring the question, "Are you happy with your food?" -- Just quickly says yes or even give a thumbs-up so they know everything is fine.

Complaining directly to the manager -- You'll create a bigger situation than if you just talk to the server first, who'll do whatever they can to fix the problem.

Not mentioning you're splitting the bill -- It's a lot easier for the server to keep bills separate from the start of the meal instead of having to split it all up at the end.

Being way too chatty -- Being friendly with the server is great, but if you take up too much of their time, you're keeping them from doing their job of serving other people too.